Action needs to be taken to limit the impact of severe weather in the future for communities not covered by existing flood alleviation schemes.
That was the view expressed by Moray’s MSP on Thursday after he visited homes in Dallas, one of the communities hardest hit by Monday’s near catastrophic storm.
The village was completely cut off from any immediate help with householders left to do all they could to protect their own homes after the River Lossie burst its banks. Council staff have now identified 29 homes in the village that were damaged with their investigations continuing.
Richard Lochhead MSP surveyed some of the damage for himself and spoke of the “terrifying experience” it must have been for residents. He said: “Seeing fish lying in the grass behind houses illustrates the scale of the flood.
“Many of the people I met are heartbroken but getting on with the recovery and I pay tribute to their community spirit.”
Now the MSP says that action has to be taken to limit the impact of such weather on communities such as Dallas in the future.
“Many recognise that this was a largely unprecedented event – but there are questions being asked and it is important that these questions are answered,” he said.
Mr Lochhead added: “I am going to request to meet Scottish Water to discuss the drainage capacity issues in and around Elgin because there the problem has been with surface water, not river flooding.
“I am also going to ask the council to get an assessment of the impact of the recent severe weather and what can be done to ensure severe weather does not cause similar problems in future.”